Tag: balkan border

A report from an activist perspective on current protests in Hungary and Serbia

September 2015. Tens of thousands of people are on their way to Western Europe. Thousands are stuck at the Keleti train station in Budapest. On the 4th of September, in increasingly difficult conditions, they decide no longer to wait for the trains to take then on, but start walking towards their destination. As in the case of a collective push to open the border at the Greek-Macedonian border two weeks earlier, the goal of the March of Hope is clear: cross the Hungarian border, then go to Austria, Germany or further, with the hope of security and better living conditions. Finally in the middle of September, when the last meters of Hungarian border fence are sealed with barbed wire, there is a clash between refugees and the police in Röszke. People direct against fortress Europe of foreclosure and against the border regime as an expression of racist nationalism – and decide to disobey it and to cross the borders.

During this time, numerous convoys from Germany start to show practical solidarity on the so-called Balkan route. In catastrophic conditions, they assist people on the move, through the supply of a warm meals. The developing dynamics lead to discussions, whether this is humanitarian aid, political activism or something else. State structures benefit from the work of these people. They are now busy in reestablishing the lost control. For this, trains and buses are chartered to bring people to where they want to go. In 2017, only detention prisons and border fencing remain.


Röszke has disappeared from the media long time ago. It has become quiet in this small border village. A deceptive idyll, which only exists because Hungary has completely closed off its borders. 19 months after the refugee protests, a demonstration passes through Röszke. The participants shout: “Nem kell a kerités, szabadság!” (“We don’t need fences, freedom!”) and “Vesszen a fasizmus!” (“Down with fascism!”). They are directed at the Hungarian fascist system, which has closed all open camps, and is holding asylum seekers in a container prisons near the border. Even though much less people manage to pass through, the closing of the borders can never stop the movement of people. According to Médecins Sans Frontièrs, many people are severely wounded, many have their bones broken, in the attempts to cross. Refugees in Serbia report brutal pushbacks by the Hungarian police, which are legal at up to 8km distance from the border.

Pictures in Belgrade in April 2017 are reminiscent of pictures from the year 2015. Many people on the Balkan route are stuck there, because the surrounding states isolate themselves with powerful means. About one thousand people live in former warehouses near the railway station in Belgrade. Under a parking deck, minors sleep in tents. Several activist and humanitarian organizations are also on the ground. English courses and a sports facility are self-organized. Demonstrations and information events are being held. The most common languages spoken are Pashtu, Urdu, Farsi, English, German and Spanish. In the barracks, as the warehouses are rightly called, there is a charging station for smart-phones and improvised sanitary facilities. On the walls, signs in different colors are written: “The problem is borders” and “I am a person too”. In addition to these statements you can also read: “We need shoes”. Neither the ruins of old warehouses nor the personal equipment available are sufficient to protect people from cold and wet weather. Not only do people drown in the Mediterranean daily, but also people in the metropolis of Belgrade are dying as a consequence of the EU border regime. Even the two hot meals a day are organized by non-governmental kitchens.

At the beginning of May, the No Name Kitchen alerted via Facebook: “WE HAVE TO TALK ABOUT SERBIA.” The Commissioner for Migration and Refugees Serbia has announced the evacuation of the barracks. The people are to be accommodated in the official camps and forced to apply for asylum in Serbia. “The camp system in Serbia is an extended way of doing business in a fast way, is copy-pasted from other EU countries,” says the No Border Serbia collective. According to the state, camps should provide shelter and supply for refugees. In fact, they represent a further restriction of freedom for those who live in it. On the 11th of May, the evacuation starts in the early morning hours. Employees of the Commissariat for Migration and Refugees already sprayed insecticides in the halls the day before. Resistance is rising among the people living there, some of them starting a hunger strike.

Despite the protests, most of them are finally forced to get on buses. If people do not enter voluntarily, they are threatened with being deported to the closed camp in Preševo. Protest is also rising by supporting groups. The rooms of the No Name Kitchen were the first to be demolished. In the evening they write their struggle goes on, because they did not just come for cooking.

Behind the evacuation stands the large project Belgrade Waterfront of the Eagle Hills Company. New luxury buildings are planned, they would cover two million square miter of this urban area. What is described as an innovative “facelift” for the city on their website is a source of indignation. More than 200 tenants have already been deprived of their living space. Protests after the election of Prime Minister Aleksandar Vučić as the President of the Republic raised the topic of difficult living conditions in Serbia. Many people live extremely precariously, the average income is 350 euros a month, the youth unemployment at 44% and the social welfare system works only rudimentarily.

“Many people are fleeing from here because they have no other chance,” reports an activist. This makes it clear how difficult political activism is if one’s own existence is not adequately secured. The German government ignores this situation and in recent years has massively deported people back to the Balkan states, including some who left decades ago, or have never even lived there. This symbolizes the political pre-eminence of the German government. It has the freedom to decide on exacerbating asylum laws in the interior and relocating the devastating effects to the external borders.

The article is written by a feminist collective whose individuals are active in different anti-racist contexts. The question of how effective political activism is to be organized remains open. The decision to participate in the demonstration in Röszke and the visit to Belgrade came through existing contacts on one hand. On the other hand, it was still important to visualize the current situation on the Balkan route, as a continuation of the solidarity actions of 2015. We want to continue the discussion about (joint) political work with local activists. For this purpose, is scheduled to invite them to Germany to in September 2017.

European bordezones update

Important:

#‎WeatherAegean: United Rescue issues an IMPORTANT warning for the Aegean Sea: A huge storm is expected Saturday the 16th of January and Sunday the 17th of January which will be a thunderstorm on some of the islands accompanied by high waves. Also, snow is expected to fall on some of the islands in the Aegean Sea with a significant drop in temperatures. Dear refugee friends, please cancel all crossings.

تحذير هام :
عاصفة قوية محملة بالأمطار و الثلوج ستضرب المناطق و الجزر المطلة على بحر إيجه . مما سيسبب ارتفاع عالي بمستوى أمواج البحر و ذلك في تاريخ السادس عشر و السابع عشر من شهر كانون الثاني و الذي يصادف أيام السبت و الأحد الرجاء من الاخوة المهاجرين اخذ الحيطة و الحذر و عدم تعريض انفسهم و اطفالهم لخطر الغرق و الموت
أخي المهاجر سلامتك و سلامة اطفالك أولا

A larger update on the EU borderzones by the activists from Are You Syrious?

17.1.2016 Balkan route and some Northern EU countries

AYS DAILY NEWS DIGEST 16/1/2016 /// STOP THE SIEGE IN DEIR EZZOR /// HUGE STORM EXPECTED IN THE AEGEAN SEA CONTINUES ON SUNDAY /// THREE ARRESTED VOLUNTEERS IN GREECE RELEASED /// TURKISH COASTGUARD CUTS FUEL PIPES ON REFUGEE BOAT LEAVING IN STRANDED IN AEGEAN /// FIVE DEAD BODIES; LIKELY REFUGEES; FOUND NEAR SAMOS /// SNOWSTORMS EXPECTED DURING THE NEXT 72 HOURS IN SERBIA, REFUGEES ARE ADVISED NOT TO TRAVEL BY FOOT DURING THAT TIME /// QUESTIONABLE DETENTION METHODS FOR MIGRANTS AND INADEQUATE CONDITIONS IN THE DETENTION CENTRE IN SLOVENIA /// ALL OCCUPIED DWELLING CLEARED FROM THE JUNGE AREA INTENDED FOR BULLDOZING /// THE FIRST GROUP OF ASSYLUM SEEKERS TO BE RELOCATED TO THE NETHERLANDS ON FRIDAY ///

Solidaritat öffnet die Grenzen‏ – Call for support für Idomeni!

Unterstützungs-Aufruf / Call for support:

„NoBorder-Train-Kitchen Idomeni” 3. Dezember 2015

Infotelephon: 0030 – 69466-50046

Refugee struggle at Idomeni

Struggle at Idomeni from rabble.org.uk

Liebe Freund_innen und Genoss_innen,

es ist mittlerweile gut 4 Wochen her, seit wir uns an Euch mit der Bitte um Eure Unterstützung gewendet hatten. Ursprünglich um nach Slovenien zu fahren – um dort gespendetes Material (Zelte,Decken,Schlafsäcke etc ) an geflüchtete Menschen zu verteilen und eine mobile VolXküche zu errichten.

Die Reaktion auf unseren Aufruf war überwältigend. Schon nach kurzer Zeit hatten wir soviel Material gespendet bekommen das die Sammelstellen
überquollen.

‘No-mans land’

In the last week(s) there has been an establishment of the ‘official corridor’ through the so called Balkan route. This intergovernmental agreement’s aim is to control the flow of people who are fleeing for a better life in Europe. Even though it may sound as an improvement, for the better fluctuation of people, it is one of the steps of the development of the common European Union’s immigration system. The institutionalization of the corridor, which was before established by the constructive forces of incomming people and self-organized activists through the mutual struggle, means new forms of exclusive inclusion to the territory of the EU.

The aim of the so called official corridor is, as mentioned in the previous article, to let a certain number of people to the next country, where usually full EU member states (as Austria and Slovenia) hold a privileged position. This of course doesn’t always work as the number of people and their struggle to reach the desired destination is not manageble by such system. The reason for its establishment is always the discourse of security and liberal humanitarism of the EU and seperate member states. Political functionaries as well as repressive organs are saying, that if we don’t manage the flows well, it could come to the chaos and collapse of the EU. The only chaos in this case is the creative chaos of the incoming people who produce fear for the privileged economical and political castes that are responsible for the suffering of the wide majority of the worlds population.